


Growing Pains

by smallfriendlyghost



Series: Generations [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 09:37:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6561250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallfriendlyghost/pseuds/smallfriendlyghost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The battle for Hogwarts is over, but not everyone is ready to move on yet. This story follows Ginny Weasley and the golden trio in the years between the final chapter and epilogue of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Growing Pains

‘There is going to be a party’ Hermione said cautiously. She put her hands up as if she expected me to blow up in anger and hurried on ‘ I know it’s in bad taste, but the wizarding community is still celebrating the fall of Voldemort and muggles are starting to get suspicious. The ministry seems to have decided it might be a good idea to get everyone together and try to get the celebrating out of their systems’. 

It had been one week since the Battle of Hogwarts. One week since the death of my brother, Fred. The funeral had been a few days ago and had been one of the most heart breaking events of my life. The worst part had been watching his twin, George, having to lean on Ron’s shoulder, a boy who’d been so difficult to stop making jokes for most of his life unable to even speak. 

We weren’t the only one’s who had lost someone, it had been so difficult to find a venue that we ended up being squeezed in between two other funerals and having to rush the whole ceremony. It felt like a bad way to say goodbye to our dear brother, so Mum invited everyone back to ours for our own ceremony. It had been hard to say goodbye, but as our oldest brother, Bill, had said on that day, ‘George would have wanted us to celebrate the good he did and the laughter he brought to the world, and while it is sad that he is gone, we must remember the happiness he brought to the world’

Remembering this quote I looked back at Hermione. She was fiddling with her fingers sheepishly and pointedly looking away from me.  
‘it makes sense’ Her eyes shot up to meet mine as I broke the silence. ‘I mean not everyone lost someone, I get why they’d want a chance to celebrate. When is it?’

Hermione screwed up her face ‘Tonight, at Hogwarts’

‘Hogwarts?’ it seemed like an odd choice considering it was the location of so much loss.

‘I know, it’s not the best idea, but the ministry wants to calm things down as soon as possible and Hogwarts is probably the only place that can hold such a large number of people. It’s a formal event, I thought maybe we could go to Diagon Ally and buy some new dress robes ‘

I looked at her incredulously ‘I can’t afford new dress robes Hermione, we were poor enough before, with all the repairs on the burrow we have almost nothing.’

‘I have money. It’s my shout.’ 

I narrowed my eyes at her. Hermione had always had enough money to get by but it had always come from her parents. As she had not yet been able to locate her parents after she had erased their memory and sent them to Australia for their own protection, I doubted she’d be able to afford new dress robes for both of us. 

‘Fine, Harry gave me the money. He wanted me to convince you to go. He says he hasn’t had a chance to talk to you since the battle.’

That was true, and it had been my own fault. I wasn’t sure how I felt about Harry at the moment and so had been doing my best to avoid being alone him. 

Catching the look on my face Hermione said ‘You can’t ignore him forever, Ginny’.

I sighed ‘Fine. I’ll go. But I won’t take his money. I’ll just modify some of my old dress robes. You can help, I’m not seventeen for another two months. 

 

Six hours later Hermione and I were walking into the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. It looked so different to how it had just seven days ago. Aside from the discoloration on the walls from where curses had hit, there was no evidence that anything major had happened. I tried my best to smile as I greeted people, ignoring the images from the battle that kept trying to make their way into my head. 

Hermione and I had done a pretty good job at doing up my robes. We used the ones I had gotten for Fleur and Bills wedding and changed the colour from pale gold to a nice blue. We’d also shortened the length a little as without my Aunty Muriel around there was no reason they had to be so long. 

I spent most of the night sitting with George and Hermione, Ron was off keeping Harry company as he made his way through all of the congratulations. Eventually they came to sit down with us. 

‘Seriously you’d think they’d leave a guy alone’ Ron said, picking up a cauldron cake and putting the whole thing in his mouth ‘doesn’t Harry deserve to have a good night too?’

‘They’re just grateful Ron, Harry saved them’ Hermione said. 

‘They should be grateful to you two’ Harry said, indicating to Ron and Hermione. ‘I couldn’t have done any of it without you.’

Ron grinned and Hermione blushed. I looked away, a pang of annoyance rising within me. 

‘Hi guys,’ a voice came from behind me. Angelina Johnston, ex Quiddich Captain had appeared, with two glasses of fire whisky in her hands. She offered one to George. ‘Can we talk?’ George followed her away from the table.

‘On that note’ said Ron ‘Hermione will you come for a walk with me’.

And suddenly I was left alone with Harry Potter. 

I stared at the table centrepiece, a beautiful floral arrangement that occasionally sent tiny balls of glowing light up to the sky, searching for an excuse to leave the table and not seem rude. I had just decided that I was desperate to use the toilet for the second time in ten minutes when Harry spoke. 

‘It’s weird isn’t it?’ Harry’s eyes met mine and the sadness in them froze me to my seat. ‘being back here with everyone celebrating like this. It’s as if all that pain, all that death, never happened right where they’re dancing’. He sighed ‘I can’t imagine what it’ll be like going back’.

All at once it hit me, I was going to have to come back here for my seventh year, I was going to have to walk past the place where my classmates died, where my brother died, and pretend that everything was ok as I walked to class. I felt tears welling up in my eyes and turned my head so that I could see my mother and father across the room, talking with someone from Dad’s office. I was not going to let Harry see me cry.


End file.
